Effect of lonidamine on the utilization of 14C-labeled glucose by human astrocytoma cells.

The effect of lonidamine (LND), 1-(2,4-dichlorobenzyl)-1H-indazol-3 carboxylic acid, on the utilization of carbon from 14C-labeled glucose by cell cultures of the permanent strain LI derived from a human glioblastoma multiforme (astrocytoma) has been investigated. The results may be summarized as follows. Aerobic glycolysis is the main energy-yielding process as shown by the fact that the greatest part of glucose carbon atoms is incorporated into lactate. Nevertheless, the amount of glucose converted accounts for only 63% of the lactate produced, indicating the presence of an elevated endogenous aerobic glycolysis. The amount of glucose carbon atoms incorporated into CO2, lipids, nucleic acid, and supporting structures is low. LND decreased the incorporation of 14C activity in all the above mentioned isolated compounds because of its ability to inhibit glucose phosphorylation. Consequently, there is a lower concentration of glucose-6-phosphate which, in turn, affects the rate of formation of several metabolites in glycolytic and pentose phosphate pathways. Experiments with [1-14C]-2-deoxy-D-glucose further substantiate the idea of glucose phosphorylation as a main target of LND and strongly suggest the presence of a mitochondrially bound hexokinase. The higher inhibition of glucose phosphorylation in exponentially growing cells indicates a further shift of the enzyme toward mitochondria-bound form and confirms the importance of the energy status of the cell in eliciting the response to LND. The reduced capacity of LND-treated cells to synthetize ATP and glucose-6-phosphate reflects the decreased synthesis of proteins and nucleic acids, which affects cell growth and duplication.